Porkocalypse: Will There Be A Pork Shortage Or Not?

Can it really have only been a couple of days ago? Yes, news of the porkocalypse began to spread just earlier this week after a British trade organization, the National Pig Assn., put out a press release stating that "A world shortage of pork and bacon next year is now unavoidable."

The reason?

New data shows the European Union pig herd is declining at a significant rate, and this is a trend that is being mirrored around the world. Pig farmers have been plunged into loss by high pig-feed costs, caused by the global failure of maize and soya harvests.

All main European pig-producing countries report shrinking sow herds.

Continue Reading

Time to freak out, right? Although, you'd think that if we were having the same problem in the U.S., we might have heard about it, seeing as the vast majority of the pork consumed in the U.S. is raised domestically. In fact, according to an Los Angeles Times story on the shortage, "In U.S. warehouses, pork supply soared to a record last month, rising 31% to 580.8 million pounds at the end of August from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

So what gives? Porkocalypse or no porkocalypse? Not in the U.S., it seems. Erin Borror of the U.S. Meat Export Federation tells the Des Moines Register today: "There may be some shortages of pork in Europe, but there will be no shortages in the U.S." And Slate has a good explanation of the entire issue, explaining that there should be no shortage here, though prices may rise. Which doesn't seem like such a bad thing -- it's always seemed a little wrong how cheap those huge pork loins at Costco go for, no?

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.